Not an Idiot
by NoTearsFalling
Summary: I is for Inferior. D is for Dumb. I is for Inept. O is for Oblivious. T is for Thoughtless. Percy was not an idiot, no matter what anybody else said. (Chp. 2 is up for all you lovely people who wanted it.)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO.**

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 _I is for Inferior_

 **in·fe·ri·or** _/inˈfirēər/_ lower in rank, status, or quality

" _Get away from my friend!"_

" _Why should I listen to you? You're not important anyway."_

Percy had heard over and over his life that he was inferior. Gabe told him, Nancy told him, his teachers told him, and basically anyone else he met told him this. According to others, this was just a fact of life, the truth. As he grew up though, he realized that maybe he wasn't inferior. He also realized that sometimes it was best for others to take the lead. As Hestia had one told him, "Not all powers are spectacular. Sometimes the hardest power to master is the power of yielding."

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 _D is for Dumb_

 **dumb** _/dəm/_ stupid

 **(stu·pid** _/st(y)o͞opəd/_ lacking intelligence or common sense **)**

" _I-I don't understand. The letters are moving all over the page. I can't read it."_

" _Or maybe you are just too stupid to understand it kid."_

Percy wasn't stupid. He knew that he wasn't even near as smart as any of the Athena children. He knew that he sometimes he rushed into things without speaking. Percy may have been alot of things, but he was not stupid. Percy _was_ intelligent, and he _did_ have common sense.

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 _I is for Inept_

 **in·ept** _/iˈnept/_ having or showing no skill; clumsy.

" _Ah!"_

" _Learn to walk stupid. Tripping over your own shoelaces? Pathetic."_

Percy tried. He really did. Percy tried to be perfectly graceful and not to mess up, but nobody's perfect. It really wasn't fair though. When anybody else made a mistake, it was just ignored or laughed of. But when he made a mistake? It was always, "Ah, classic Seaweed Brain. You can't do anything right can you?" or, "Kelp head, even _I_ can do better than that!" What about when he was swordfighting? That had to count for _something_ , right? Apparently not.

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 _O is for Oblivious_

 **ob·liv·i·ous** _/əˈblivēəs/_ not aware of or not concerned about what is happening around one

" _I-I don't know if we should be doing this."_

" _Come on you big baby! We are going to give it back after we are done borrowing it. Besides, it's not like he'll even notice anyway."_

Percy must have been a really good actor if people thought that he was oblivious to them. Reality check, he wasn't. Oh yes, he tried to ignore the looks. When he first came to camp, he was a nobody, and if someone saw him, they just scoffed at the 'newbie'. Later though, the looks were different, evaluating. Everyone wanted to see if he was made out to be a hero. Even after he was a hero, they were _still_ watching him. They were probably waiting for him to turn into a stuck up hero or even worse, to betray them.

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 _T is for Thoughtless_

 **thought·less** _/THôtləs/_ not showing consideration for the needs of other people.

" _It's okay, I'm sure that he will notice you someday."_

" _Ya right. He's thoughtless anyway."_

Percy noticed little things about others. The way Travis blushed every time Katie came by even though his _own brother_ thought he was just hot from the sun or something or when Piper was shifting nervously when Jason and Reyna met again. Percy even noticed that Annabeth maybe-might-sorta-kinda like him just a teeny bit. Of course, he was too nervous around her to actually ask if his suspicions were correct. Yes, Percy _did_ miss things every so often, but he cared alot for other people, and you couldn't say that he was thoughtless.

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 _IDIOT_

 **id·i·ot** _/idēət/_ a stupid person

" _Silly, Seaweed Brain. You are such an idiot sometimes."_

" _But I'm_ your _idiot."_

No matter what anybody said, Percy wasn't an idiot. He had heard it alot over his life. He had from Gabe, bullies at school, and the kids at camp. Percy had heard even random people on the street talk about him as he passed. The teasing got even worse when he got to camp. It was like being a son of Poseidon immediately made him dumber than others. Ya, whenever someone teased him, he would laugh it off like Leo would have done, but that didn't make it hurt even less. So of course when Annabeth joked about him being an idiot, he may have laughed about it, but you really couldn't blame him when an unnoticed tear dripped down his cheek and splattered against the ground.

And others called _him_ oblivious.

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 **A/N Um… hi? Please review maybe?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** **This is dedicated to all my lovely followers and anyone who reads my stuff. Thank you!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO.**

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 **Percy's POV (Third Person)**

Percy sighed as he looked down at the poem he had wrote. He sighed again as he laid his notebook back on the desk that he had in his cabin. He really didn't understand it. For all the times people stared at him, they didn't even notice that he was hurt. Was he really that good of an actor? Because as far as he could tell, he was not.

Percy looked out his window at the all demigods smiling and laughing, looking like they didn't have a care in the world. Maybe that was it. Maybe him smiling was just enough to make everyone think that he was alright. It worked with Leo, didn't it?

Percy shook his head. He really had to get out of this depressing mood. Percy stood up and changed into his swimsuit. He didn't even bother grabbing a towel as he headed out the door. It wasn't like he even needed one.

 **Annabeth's POV (Third Person)**

Annabeth smiled and waved at the other campers as she jogged to Percy's cabin. As she reached Percy's door, she saw him in the distance heading to the beach. Annabeth shrugged, it didn't matter anyway. She just had to grab a book that she had left in his cabin when she was helping him study.

Annabeth opened Percy's door and walked in. She immediately wrinkled her nose. Seriously? Annabeth had just finished making Percy clean his cabin… this morning. Annabeth shook her head and sighed. Well, that was Percy for you.

Annabeth started looking around for her book when she spotted a notebook on Percy's desk. She frowned confused. As far as Annabeth could tell, she hadn't left a notebook in here, and she was pretty sure that Percy didn't write anything. Annabeth walked up to the desk and picked up the notebook.

As Annabeth looked at the notebook, she was surprised. The writing was definitely Percy's. It was _much_ neater than normal but still a little sloppy. Percy had wrote in Greek, and Annabeth reasoned that he had done so because of his dyslexia.

After observing the handwriting and such, Annabeth finally started focusing on the words themselves. Her surprise grew even more, and a guilty feeling started in her stomach as she started to read the words that Percy had wrote.

 **Leo's POV (Third Person)**

Leo was walking with Jason and Frank when Piper and Hazel ran up the them. Hazel bounced giddily, "Hey guys! Chiron wants us to get some stuff for the camp in the city. Do you want to come?"

Frank looped an arm around Hazel and smiled, "Calm down. I'll come. How about you guys?"

Jason and Leo nodded. Leo thought a sec, "Hey, do you think we should get Annabeth and water boy?"

The rest of the seven that were there nodded, and Piper spoke up, "I heard her say that she was going to Percy's cabin. She left something there."

Hazel bounced again, "Okay, let's go!"

As they started walking, Frank whispered to Leo, "Did you give her sugar?"

Leo laughed at his scared expression, "Nope!" His face then turned serious, "I recommend that you don't give her sugar though. It will end badly."

Frank nodded as he paled slightly, but he made no further comment. Jason spoke up, "We're here."

 **Piper's POV (Third Person)**

Piper smiled as they walked up the to the door up Percy's cabin. Her smile turned to a look of confusion when then entered and saw Annabeth looking at a notebook that was in her hands. The thing that got Piper confused was the slight glimmer in her eyes. No one else seemed to notice, but Piper knew that was a sign that she was about to cry, which was something that Annabeth did _not_ do.

Leo spoke up loudly, "Yo, Annie. What are you looking at?"

"A poem that Percy wrote. Guys, you need to see this." Annabeth's voice had a slight waver in it.

Piper frowned. This was serious if Annabeth didn't even bother to correct Leo. Piper reached out for the paper, and everyone looked down at the poem.

 _/~~~_ \

 _You call me inferior,_

 _As if you're superior,_

 _Don't you know that hurts?_

 _/~~~_ \

 _You call me dumb,_

 _And my heart goes numb._

 _But still I can feel the pain._

 _/~~~_ \

 _You call me inept,_

 _Because you can't accept,_

 _That I'm not perfect like you._

 _/~~~_ \

 _You call me oblivious._

 _No it's not niveous._

 _That's just hidden tears falling from the sky._

 _/~~~_ \

 _You call me thoughtless._

 _Although my brain isn't spotless,_

 _And I just might have more thoughts than you._

 _/~~~_ \

 _You call me an idiot._

 _Don't you know how much pain that can bring?_

 _But of course, none of you notice a thing._

 _/~~~_ \

Piper's eyes started tearing up like Annabeth's. Did he really think these things? Did Percy really think that they thought they were better than him?

Annabeth took a shaky breath, "See? I-I didn't know that he felt that way."

Piper looked around at the others in the room. The looks on their faces showed their sadness too. She turned back to Annabeth, "None of us did."

 **Jason's POV (Third Person)**

Jason looked around at the others at the room. They seemed to be feeling just as guilty as him. Jason was about to speak when they heard a _THUD_. Everyone turned to look at the doorway. Percy was frozen there staring at the notebook in Piper's hands. He had a look of absolute fear and loss on his face. The thud that they had heard was a seashell that Percy had been holding in his hands. It now lay broken and forgotten on the floor.

Jason spoke up slowly and quietly, "H-hey Perce. What's up?"

Jason had been trying for a carefree attitude, but he cringed at the weak sound of his voice. Percy seemed to have broken out of his trance but only partly. He pointed a shaky finger at the notebook, "D-did you read that?"

Jason looked over at the others. Piper nodded to him, and she spoke softly, "Yes, Percy, we did."

Percy looked so betrayed at her statement that Annabeth burst out crying and ran into his arms. Now that was _not_ an Annabeth thing to do. Percy held her close still looking at the notebook. Annabeth spoke through her tears, "W-we didn't know y-you felt that way Percy. Why didn't you t-tell us?"

Percy got a sad look on his face, "It wasn't important. You didn't need to know."

 **Frank's POV (Third Person)**

When Percy said that it wasn't important, Annabeth stepped back and slapped him. She cried even harder, "What do you mean it wasn't important?! We were _hurting_ you!"

Percy winced at her words and held his face in pain. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

Jason looked at his cousin angrily, "Make _us_ feel bad? This whole time we were making _you_ feel bad! We didn't even know that you were hurting! You were smiling the whole time!"

"A tough exterior doesn't make you indestructible." Percy said sadly. He shared a meaningful look with Leo.

Frank held Hazel closer as she cried into his chest, "Percy, we don't want you hurt. Why would you even think that we thought those things?"

Percy ran a hand through his hair nervously as if we was about to tell his biggest secret. "I-I thought that maybe you were like the others."

 **Hazel's POV (Third Person)**

Annabeth's crying had softened down to just sniffles now, and she looked up at him confused, "Others?"

Percy sighed, "When I was younger, I was bullied, alot. They all talked about me being inferior and inept… a-and Gabe… h-he would call me dumb every day. I guess it just all got to my head. When I came to camp, I thought it would be different. It wasn't. At first, I was the new kid, so of course everyone just had to pick on me. At least then though, I was still considered to have _some_ intelligence. When I got claimed though, it seemed like everyone immediately thought I was stupid or something. You know, brain full of seaweed?"

Annabeth sniffed, "B-but you're hero now. It's different right?"

Percy laughed bitterly, "No, it's worse. It's like everyone is waiting for me to turn into a stuck up hero or even worse, to betray them like Luke. Everyone is just waiting for me to make a mistake. Now, after Tartarus? It's like everyone is waiting for me to snap, to go insane. Nico and you get those looks too, but it's not as bad for you guys."

Piper looked at Percy curiously, "Why haven't you snapped yet?"

Percy smiled gently and spoke softly, "Because, I have you guys."

Everyone looked at each other, and they all shared a silent message in their eyes. Percy was not going to get hurt by them or anyone else again. They would make sure of that.

Hazel whipped the tears from her eyes gave Percy a hug. Everyone joined her until it became a group hug.

 **Percy's POV (Third Person)**

Percy smiled as Hazel and everyone else gave him a hug. Apparently, they did love him. Percy smiled. Ya, he loved his family too.

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 **A/N Hey there! (again) If the poem wasn't that good, I apologize because I wrote it myself. Also, in the poem was the word "niveous". It means snowy or resembling snow. I know that it wasn't a good rhyme, but it was the only word that rhymed with oblivious other than lascivious. (And for those of you who know what that word means, there was** _ **no way**_ **that I was going to use that word in this poem.)**

 **There was also another reason for me using the word niveous. See, when I found out what that word meant (and because I was writing a sad poem) it got me thinking. You know how some people say that rain is the clouds crying? Well, I was wondering what snow would be, and I thought, 'Well, what if it is just tears in disguise?' (Yes, I do know what rain really is. I'm not** _ **fully**_ **insane. ;D) Anyway, since I talked about Percy not being oblivious, I was wondering if he noticed that.**

 **(Oh! Random thought that I just came up with now! What if it is Khione crying? Do you think that would make a good story? Mental Note: Make story about Khione) Okay, I know that I'm not ADHD, but sometimes I seriously wonder if I am… ;D**

 **(P.S. When Percy shared a meaningful look with Leo, that is reference to another one-shot I'll be writing called** _ **Turtle**_ **. It will take place before this.)**

 **Anyway, sorry for the long author's note. Thank you for your reviews on the original chapter. You are all wonderful. I hope that you enjoyed it!**


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